As a conventional disk reproducing apparatus having a disk exchanger, a disk reproducing apparatus such as shown in FIG. 29 is known in which a magazine having disks inserted therein is loaded in the apparatus and a desired disk in the magazine is selected and reproduced. Such a disk reproducing apparatus requires an expensive magazine, posing a problem of high cost of the whole apparatus.
A disk pick-up position storage device for a disk reproducing apparatus using such a magazine, proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 4-55178 (Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. 6-11154), is shown in FIGS. 30 and 31. This disk pick-up storage device is used for placing a disk at the original position in the magazine after the disk was pulled out of the magazine or the power is turned off after the disk was pulled out of the magazine. In FIG. 30, reference numeral 101 represents a magazine which has shelves for accommodating six disk trays 102, 102, . . . . The magazine 101 accommodates six disk trays on which disks 103 are placed. A case for mounting the magazine 101 and a lock mechanism are mounted on a chassis.
Reference numeral 104 represents a loading tray which is used for placing thereon a disk not accommodated in the magazine 101, can accommodate only one disk, and is transported between the inside of an apparatus housing shown in FIG. 30 and a position protruded from the housing. A loading chassis is constituted of a loading chassis top plate 106a on which a loading chassis left guide 106b and a loading chassis right guide 106c are fixedly mounted. This loading chassis is supported by pantograph mechanisms 107, 107, . . . movably up and down relative to the chassis.
A pin 106d is mounted upright on the loading chassis left guide 106b and engages with a cam groove 108a of a loading chassis lift plate 108 which is supported by a side chassis 105 and is made to become capable of sliding back and forth by an unrepresented gear meshing with a rack 108b. As the loading chassis lift plate 108 moves, the loading chassis moves up and down. The positions of shelves of the magazine 101 and the shelf of the loading tray 104 can be detected by light of a photo interrupter passing through holes 108c, 108c, . . . of the loading chassis lift plate 108.
An upward open recess of a loading arm 109 is fitted in a T-character shaped portion 106f at the bottom of the loading chassis left guide 106b, the loading arm 109 being made to become capable of sliding back and forth along the loading chassis left guide 106b and also to move up and down together with the loading chassis. A rod 110 engaging with a notch of the loading arm 109 is supported by the side chassis 105 and made movable back and forth by an unrepresented drive mechanism.
The loading arm 109 also engages with a notch of the disk tray 102 and driven by the rod 110 back and forth to move the disk tray 102 from the magazine 101 or loading tray 104 into grooves 106g of the loading chassis.
As shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, an engaging piece 111 is supported by the side chassis 105 and is made to become capable of sliding up and down. The engaging piece 111 is energized upward by a coil spring 112. The engaging piece 111 usually abuts against an unrepresented stopper. In this state, recesses 111a, 111a, . . . are at the height positions of the disk trays. The height position of the uppermost disk tray in the magazine 101 corresponds to an upper space of the engaging piece 111 and that of the lowermost disk tray in the loading tray 104 corresponds to a lower space of the engaging piece 111.
A stopper piece 113 is supported by the loading chassis left guide 106b and is made to become capable of sliding. The stopper piece 113 is energized by a coil spring 114 and is usually in tight contact with a step 106h of the loading chassis left guide 106b. In this state, a stopper portion 113a of the stopper piece 113 does not protrude into the recess 111a, and the engaging piece 111 is still even if the loading chassis moves up and down.
As the loading arm 109 moves the disk tray into the loading chassis, the rear end of the loading arm 109 pushes the lower front end (hidden in FIG. 31) of the stopper piece 113 and makes the stopper piece 113 protrude into the recess 111a.
Next, as the loading chassis moves down to a playing position, the loading chassis puts a disk on the disk tray on an unrepresented turntable, and a clamper 106e supported in a floating state by the loading chassis top plate 106a clamps the disk onto the turntable to start playing the disk.
In moving the disk back to the original position after playing, the loading chassis moves up together with the engaging piece 111. At this raised position, a projection 111b of the engaging piece 111 makes a lever 115 rotatively supported by the side chassis 105 rotate in the clockwise direction to activate a microswitch 116 so that a rise end position (a position slightly lower than the position where the disk tray is moved from the magazine into the loading chassis) is detected. However, if the disk in the loading tray 104 is played, since the stopper piece 113a is lower than the engaging piece 111, the engaging piece 111 will not move down even if the stopper piece 113 moves down together with the loading chassis and the microswitch 116 is in the activated state. Therefore, the rise end position of the loading chassis can be detected by an output of the microswitch 116.
Immediately after the rise end position (position at which the microswitch 116 is activated) of the loading chassis is detected, light passing through the hole 108c, 108c, . . . of the loading chassis lift plate 108 is detected by the photo interrupter and the loading chassis lift plate 108 is stopped. When the loading chassis lift plate 108 is stopped, the disk tray in the loading chassis is at the original height position of the magazine. As the loading arm 109 moves, the disk tray is moved back to the original position of the magazine. More specifically, the loading chassis moves up together with the stopper piece 113 and loading arm, and when it comes to the height same as the disk dray 102 in the loading tray, it stops. Then, the loading arm 109 moves the disk tray 102 into the loading chassis. At this time, the stopper portion 113a of the stopper piece 113 enters the recess 111a at the height position same as the engaging piece 111, or moves lower than the engaging piece. In this state, the engaging piece 111 is the highest rise position and the microswitch 116 is in the activated state (on-state).
As the loading chassis lowers together with the engaging piece 111 in order to lower the disk to the playing position, the microswitch 116 turns off. In moving the disk back into the magazine after the reproduction, the loading chassis moves up and the microswitch 116 turns on. At this time, the loading chassis is nearly at the height position before it lowers. Immediately after the microswitch 116 turns on, the photo interrupter detects the hole 108c of the loading chassis lift plate 108 so that the loading chassis stops rising.
If the engaging piece 111 does not lower (when the disk tray 102 in the loading tray 104 is moved into the loading chassis) even if the loading chassis lowers the disk to the reproduction position, the microswitch 116 maintains on. In this case, the loading chassis stops rising at a timing when the photo interrupter first detects the hole 108c of the loading chassis lift plate 108 as the loading chassis moves up.
In playing another disk, the loading chassis is moved up and down in the state that the loading arm 109 moves into the magazine, to engage with the disk tray of the disk next played and pull the disk out of the magazine.
If the microswitch 116 is not in the activated state when the power of the disk reproducing apparatus is turned on, the loading chassis is raised after interrupter detects the hole 108c of the loading chassis lift plate 108. If the photo interrupter does not detect the hole 108c of the loading chassis lift plate 108 even if the microswitch 116 is activated, the loading chassis is raised until the hole 108c is detected. Thereafter, the initial state of the apparatus is recovered by moving the disk dray to the original position in the magazine by moving the loading arm 109.
With this disk reproducing apparatus, the loading arm 109 pulls only one disk out of the magazine. The pull-out position is stored as the position where the stopper piece 113 engages with the recess 111a, 111a, . . . of the engaging piece 111. However, this method of mechanically storing the pull-out position of the disk in the magazine poses a problem of a need of the above-described complicated mechanism.
As another disk reproducing apparatus having a disk exchanger, a disk reproducing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 4-38673 is shown in FIG. 32. A stocker shown in FIG. 32 stores a plurality of carriers each capable of placing a disk thereon. The stocker is moved up and down by stocker transport means to a height position allowing a desired carrier to be pulled out by a tray. Specifically, the stocker is moved by a distance corresponding to the number of shelves for housing carriers.
The tray is transported between a load position shown in FIGS. 32(a) and 32(b) and an eject position shown in FIGS. 32(c). The carrier having a desired disk placed thereon is placed on a tray at the load position, and the disk is clamped by clamping means to reproduce the disk as shown in FIG. 32(b). As the tray with the carrier moves from the position shown in FIG. 32(a) to the position shown in FIG. 32(c), the carrier on the tray is exposed to the outside of the apparatus housing. In this state, the disk on the carrier is exchanged or a new disk is placed on the carrier. As the tray with the carrier moves from the position shown in FIG. 32(c) to the position shown in FIG. 32(a) and the carrier on the tray is moved back to the stocker, the disk can be exchanged or a new disk can be added to the apparatus. This disk reproducing apparatus is advantageous over a conventional disk reproducing apparatus with an exchanger in that the disk magazine is not used. The disk magazine is expensive, and if it is dismounted from the apparatus and placed at a different position, it takes some time to locate this disk magazine. This is inconvenient to use.
However, this disk reproducing apparatus disclosed in the above-described Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 4-38673 has only one means for pulling a carrier out of the stocker. Therefore, a disk in the stocker cannot be exchanged during the reproduction when the carrier is at the position of reproducing means.
The invention has been made under the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a disk reproducing apparatus capable of housing a disk in a stocker even if the power is turned off while the disk is pulled out of the stocker, without using complicated mechanisms and a battery backed up memory or the like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide means for housing a disk in a stocker without using a battery backed up memory or the like, for a disk reproducing apparatus having first and second disk transport means allowing disks to be exchanged during reproduction.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a disk reproducing apparatus capable of exchanging disks in a stocker even during reproduction of a disk.
A disk reproducing apparatus of this invention comprises: a stocker capable of accommodating a plurality of disks; reproducing means for reproducing a disk; transport means for transporting a disk between the stocker and the outside of an apparatus housing or the reproducing means; position aligning means for aligning relative positions of a disk and the transport means; and control means, wherein if the power of the apparatus is turned on while the transport means transports one disk to the outside of the apparatus housing and another disk to a reproduction position, the control means controls to accommodate the one disk in the stocker and thereafter accommodate the other disk in the stocker.
According to another aspect of the invention, upon a request of transporting another disks to the reproducing means under the conditions that the transport means transports one disks to the outside of the housing, the control means controls to accommodate the one disk at the outside of the housing in the stocker and thereafter transport the other disk to the reproducing means.
According to another aspect of the invention, upon an instruction of accommodating at least one of one disk and another disk in the stocker under the conditions that the transport means transports the one disk to the outside of the housing and the other disk to the reproducing means, the control means controls to first accommodate the disk transported later, into the stocker.